


67%

by anai5



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Denial, Emotional Constipation, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Everyone Is Alive, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Haruno Sakura is So Done, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Pining, Smoking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-12 22:51:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21484147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anai5/pseuds/anai5
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki is a high school senior. He is adamant on making memories with his classmates and having a good time—until he flunks his math exam. Faced with an ultimatum, he has to seek help from an unlikely source. He never expected Sasuke Uchiha to agree to tutor him, but life is full of surprises.Fourteen days isn't a long time, but sometimes it is just enough to get to know someone. But is it enough to turn your life (or even a bad grade) around?
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 67
Kudos: 152





	1. The Problem Is the Solution

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”

“Naruto, language! Another detention will surely not make things any easier for you.”

Naruto slumps back in his seat, biting his bottom lip in frustration. “Yeah, I know”, he whines, nudging the sole of his shoe against the linoleum floor. The growing irritation feels like pinpricks on his skin. “No cursing in the sacred classroom, I know. But you are kidding, right? There has to be a mistake.”

“There are plenty of mistakes, believe me”, Kakashi, their math teacher, says. He spends a moment adjusting his glasses, sparing a tired glance towards the papers on his desk. “I double-checked everything. I tried to find every loophole that I could in order to give you more points. There’s just no way around it, pal. 67 percent is the final score—and that is not nearly enough.”

“But 67 percent isn’t that bad, right? It’s–”

“It’s not an awful score”, Kakashi nods, “but you haven’t been doing too well on other exams either—and I’m not just talking about mathematics here... I’m afraid that your GPA isn’t looking too good.”

“But it’s not my fault! I was at the–”

“At the hospital the night before the exam. I’m well aware of that”, Kakashi nods again, a smirk settling on his lips. “Do remind me, how did you break your arm again?”

Naruto lets out a bitter scoff, glancing at the stupid cast on his left arm. “...I was parkouring on the roof.”

“More like parkouring _ off _ the roof”, Kakashi smiles, looking a bit too amused. Then the smile is gone, his face serious again. “We should probably spend some time evaluating your choices in life and how hazardous they tend to be to your health, but there are more urgent matters right now.”

Naruto straightens in his seat. Hope sparks in him, first cautious, then persistent. “Urgent matters?” 

“Due to the circumstances”, Kakashi says, matter-of-factly, “you will be allowed to retake the exam.”

“Really? That’s–”

“That’s overly gracious and I’m the greatest teacher ever”, Kakashi says, arranging his papers back into a folder. “That being said… I expect at least 85 percent from you, if you don’t want to repeat this year.”

“Seriously? How the fuck am I supposed to–”

“Language”, Kakashi reminds him. There is a small pause before he reaches over to pat Naruto on the shoulder. “We both know that you can achieve a lot, if you just put your mind to it. And in this case… maybe consider hiring a tutor?”

*******

The school yard is empty when Naruto stomps out of the main building. Another curse is at the tip of his tongue, the irritation making his skin hot. He fishes around his pockets, his left hand clumsy, the arm itching under the cast. He is desperate for a cigarette—for something to take his mind elsewhere and numb the sting of failure.

Smoking on the school grounds is forbidden, of course, so by smoking there he is just asking for trouble. But right now he doesn’t care. It already feels like the whole education system is against him. It’s not his fault that he happened to break his arm the night before the exam and consequently had to spend the night in the ER instead of studying. Sure, someone could maybe point out—just for an argument's sake—that he should not have been jumping on the roof in the first place, much less the night before the exam, but that’s beside the point. This was his senior year, after all. He should be having fun and creating memories with his classmates. That, however, was something the teachers didn’t seem to take into consideration, and instead kept drowning them in assignments and constantly reminding them of the impending doom—as in the college applications, essays and whatnot. 

A sudden cold breeze blows through the yard. Naruto flicks his lighter furiously, the flame flickering and dying again and again. He is exhausted and ready to go home. He has one more class left, but he considers skipping it. Why bother showing up if he was going to have to repeat the year anyway? There is no way he is ever going to get 85 percent from the make up exam. Math had always been one of his weak points and the questions in the make up exam were infamously hard. It was hopeless.

The flame stays alive long enough to light the cigarette. Naruto breaths in, trying to relax while his lungs fill with smoke. He had quit smoking last Christmas, for good this time—or so he had thought—but he was under a lot of stress right now, so surely this much was allowed. There was comfort in old habits, no matter how unhealthy they were. Besides, he would quit again as soon as he was done with this stupid exam.

“Naruto! What do you think you’re doing?”

The voice makes him flinch, and he turns around to face a pink-haired girl marching towards him. The girl’s usually cute, doll-like face looks ruthless at the moment. She walks closer with sharp steps, her distinctive hair pulled back in an immaculate ponytail.

“Hi, Sakura”, Naruto tries, his voice a bit guilty. He musters up an innocent smile instead. 

Sakura stops just one feet away from him, crossing her arms disapprovingly. “You know you can’t smoke here.”

“It’s good to see you, too”, Naruto scoffs. He doesn’t need another lecture, but he sure as hell needs the nicotine. “Can’t you see that I’m just trying to medicate my addiction here?”

“I don’t think smoking helps with your nicotine addiction. Besides, didn’t you quit?”

“Yeah”, Naruto says, shrugging. He takes one last drag and tosses the remaining cigarette to the ground, grinding it against the asphalt with the tip of his shoe. He does feel a bit guilty, but his bad habits shouldn’t be any of Sakura’s concern. She does mean well, of course, but right now she’s making things worse. The faint pounding in his temples was already threatening to morph into a full-blown headache before she decided to show up.

Sakura steps closer, leaning into the stair railing next to Naruto. She is silent for a while, gazing at the almost desolate school yard. “So”, she says then, “how did it go with Kakashi?”

“It was great”, Naruto says dryly. “I’m supposed to score 85 percent in the make up exam if I even want to dream about graduating with passable grades. He said that I might have to repeat the whole year, you know, if…”

“I told you that you should take this more seriously.” Sakura huffs, swiping nonexistent dust off her skirt. “We both know that you are smart, but your attitude is horrible. It’s going to take a lot of hard work to get that kind of score.”

“It’s impossible”, Naruto groans, leaning against the railing. “You know there’s only like...ten days until the exam. And I’m an idiot.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not an idiot.” Sakura smiles at him softly. “A bit lazy, perhaps, but I know you can do it.”

“My parents are going to kill me”, Naruto whines, leaning closer to Sakura. All his usual positivity is gone and instead he feels drained.

“Nonsense. You’re going to be fine. Besides, if you start studying today and don't slack off on weekends, you actually have fourteen days until the exam. That’s plenty of time.”

“Like that is going to be enough”, Naruto says. Then, a sudden dread settles in the pit of his stomach, cold and heavy. “Mom is going to kick me out if I don’t graduate… Or worse—she’ll never let me move out! I’m serious, I can’t risk it. You will have to help me–”

“No!” Sakura lifts her palms up in front of her, defensive. “I mean, I’d love to help, but I really can’t. I still have one more essay due, and there’s a lot going on with the students’ union. And on top of it all there’s Ino and Shikamaru. I’m in a serious need for a vacation after all they have put me through with their constant bickering.”

“Speak of the devil”, Naruto chuckles, nudging his head to the direction of a dark haired boy walking towards them. 

Shikamaru waves at them lazily, his typical half-asleep expression on his face. “Hey”, he groans, slumping against the stair railing next to them. Without another word he starts to pat around his jacket pockets.

“Don’t even think about smoking here”, Sakura warns him.

Shikamaru shrugs but continues the search. “This is my only chance. Ino will be here soon and if she catches me–”

“She’s going to smell it on you”, Sakura says. Her voice sounds tired. “Then you have yet another reason to argue, and I will have to listen to Ino complain about you for days.”

Shikamaru doesn’t have a chance to object, as the front door opens and a group of students exits the building. They can see Ino’s blond ponytail in the crowd, heading towards them. Shikamaru pushes his cigarette pack deep into his jacket pocket before Ino can see it.

Ino looks as radiant as always, her hair flawless and the hem of her skirt just barely adhering to the dress code. She stops in front of them, carrying a huge folder with her. She offers a sweet smile to Shikamaru.

Naruto rolls his eyes. “Let me guess—you are going to _ study _ together again?”

A smug grin lights up Ino’s face. Her voice is a bit too sweet to be genuinely nice. “Maybe you should try it every once in a while?”

“Yeah, no. I don’t think I could stand to watch you two flirt and be gross for hours.”

“That’s not what I meant”, Ino huffs. “Probably wouldn’t hurt to actually study. The rumor has it that you got an ultimatum from Kakashi.”

“Yup”, Naruto nods. The feeling of failure is still fresh, but he tries to ignore it, masking it with a smile. “The rumors are true. I am a dead man walking.”

“Maybe you should consider getting a tutor”, Ino says, looking actually compassionate for once.

“I tried, but Sakura turned me down.”

Sakura looks mildly exasperated at that. “There are other people in this school besides us, if you haven’t noticed… Why don’t you ask Gaara? I’m sure he would help you.”

“Gaara?” Naruto wrinkles his nose. “But he’s a sophomore.”

“He’s also one of the most hard working students in our school. I heard that he could graduate a year early.”

Naruto knows all that, and he actually likes Gaara. They had been to a few classes together, and Gaara was not only smart, but also kind. Still, the idea of asking his help doesn’t sit well with Naruto. So he resorts to whining. “But he’s younger than me! I have my pride, you know.”

“Do I ever”, Sakura sighs, looking absolutely fed up.

“Why don’t you ask Sasuke?” Shikamaru yawns. “He’s at the top of our class. And a few months older than you, I think. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

Naruto barks out a dry laugh. “Yeah, right. That guy is a complete jerk. We had social studies together last semester, and he was just so full of himself. I have never met anyone so obsessed with studying. He would probably live in the school library if they didn’t kick him out in the evening.” 

“There’s nothing wrong with that”, Sakura says. “He’s hardworking and clearly ambitious.”

Naruto brushes the fingers of his non-injured hand through his hair, faking an inocent smile. “I’m sure he would be just ecstatic if I asked him. I haven’t actually kept my opinion of him to myself, you know. We might have had a few... disagreements.”

Sakura shakes her head, her voice drained. “You should really fix your attitude.”

“What? I’m just keeping it real. There’s no point in pretending.” Naruto argues, glancing at Shikamaru, hoping for some backup. “Shika, you know what I mean. You have never been the one to feign niceness, you just tell it like it is. You used to tell me all the time how troublesome Ino was and how–”

“Hey, don’t drag me down with you”, Shikamaru warns. He looks more alert now than he has throughout the entire conversation. “Besides, I don’t remember ever saying that.”

Ino lifts her eyebrows, clearly amused. “I remember you saying that. In several occasions, in fact. And look at us now.”

That earns a laugh from Sakura. She nudges Naruto with her elbow, a bright smile on her face. “See? A year ago they could barely stand each other, and now they are an epitome of a happy couple.”

“Hey!” Ino glances at her, looking a bit offended. “What’s with the sarcastic tone?”

“Nothing”, Sakura says, offering a quick grin to her friend. Then she turns her attention back to Naruto. “Just… don’t be too judgemental, okay? Maybe you and Sasuke could learn to even tolerate each other. He’s not that bad when you get to know him.”

“Of course you would say that”, Naruto mutters, “considering that you were in love with him all throughout the freshman year.”

That makes Sakura still blush, and she tries to cover it by taking a second to adjust her backpack. “That was a long time ago”, she finally says. “Just ask him, please? And be nice.”

“Fine”, Naruto groans, pushing his hands into the jacket pockets. “I’ll ask him, if that makes you happy.”

  
  


*******

Sasuke Uchiha, the indisputable valedictorian of their class, was the youngest of the Uchiha clan. The Uchihas were filthy rich and super powerful—by this point they practically owned the town. They have old money, the kind that has been passed down for generations and had to originate from something evil—that much Naruto is certain of.

Sasuke has the kind of grace and confidence that someone of his background and lineage is expected to have, and the girls have definitely noticed that. Sure, Sasuke wasn’t bad looking—if you were into haughty emo types with superiority complex. His dark, charcoal black eyes were impossible to read most of the time. It was like staring straight into the deep darkness of a faraway space; mysterious, never ending, and actually kind of frightening. At least that was what the girls at their school said.

Sasuke was the number one dream boyfriend, except for one thing—he was completely unattainable. He had never shown any interest in anyone. He spent most of his time alone, surrounded by books, not bothered by trivial things like dating or being social. His aloofness was probably part of the allure, but there were also others who seemed to think that he was too cold and standoffish, and maybe even a bit scary. That, however, didn’t stop the girls from dreaming about him, some even going as far as establishing a fanclub in his honor. That could have been a rumor, of course, but it didn’t sound too far fetched, all things considered.

Naruto mutters a couple of unfriendly words under his breath. He’s heading towards the library, where Ino had claimed to have seen Sasuke just a few moments ago. That wasn’t surprising, as Sasuke would usually spend all his free time at the school library. But what was surprising, however, was the fact that Naruto had let his friends talk him into asking Sasuke’s help—although it was a doomed mission.

He would do it to please Sakura and to get her off his back for the time being, but it didn’t mean that he was ecstatic about the idea. Asking for help was one thing, but having to beg Sasuke’s help was another, more humiliating thing. He didn't want to give Sasuke any reason to gloat. Furthermore, the chance of Sasuke agreeing was close to nothing, considering that they had been practically at each other's throats when they were forced to work together in social studies.

Naruto yanks the library door open with his uninjured hand. The hinges creak quietly and the librarian sitting behind the counter gives him a stern look. Naruto ignores it, instead gazing towards the table where Sasuke usually studied. This time was no different—Sasuke is seated alone in one of the tables near the corner, surrounded by stacks of books. He must have favored the table on purpose, because the sunlight streaming from the nearby window hit his immaculately styled raven hair in a way that made it look all soft and glossy. This observation was backed up by three girls sitting in a nearby table, ogling shamelessly at Sasuke. He must have realized that and plan the whole layout accordingly, from the carefully stacked books to the elegant tilt of his chin. It was a whole scene, truly, and the girls were actually buying it.

Naruto walks past the girls, shooting a sulky glance towards them, but they don’t seem to notice. There’s an all too familiar flicker of jealousy inside him that he tries to ignore, instead grinding his teeth together to keep his mouth shut. He could never understand how the girls could pine after Sasuke—it was clear that Sasuke wasn’t even remotely interested. Besides, underneath his perfect exterior and all that money, Sasuke was an arrogant brat with an infuriating personality. He didn’t seem to have any close friends, so that was quite self-explanatory. It didn’t seem like he was even interested in making friends either, considering how rude and uppity he was.

For a brief moment Naruto considers turning back, having almost accidentally talked himself out of all this, but the dread of not graduating is enough to help steel his nerves. So he marches up to Sasuke, pulling out one of the chairs with a quick motion. The chair makes a screeching sound against the floor and, to Naruto’s immense pleasure, Sasuke flinches. That, however, doesn’t stop the jerk from glaring at him from the other side of the table, a sliver of confusion in the dark gaze.

“...Can I help you?” Sasuke asks.

“Maybe”, Naruto hums, taking a seat and crossing his arms, the gesture a bit clumsy with the cast. “I need you to tutor me”, he deadpans, because there’s no way around it.

A delicately styled eyebrow arches in question. “Excuse me?”

“Yeah”, Naruto shrugs. “I kind of screwed up my math exam because I spent the night before the exam in the ER, and now I need some help with brushing up my skills. Sakura thought that you could help me.”

Sasuke looks a bit perplexed, but his voice is as composed as always. “And Sakura can’t help you because…?”

“Well, she did say something about her nerves. She’s trying not to have a nervous breakdown, I think.”

“And she just decided to bestow the burden on me?”

“I mean… Yeah, I guess?” Naruto nudges his shoe against the floor, suddenly jittery. He’s starting to get frustrated. He should have known that this wouldn’t work out. There’s _ no way _that this could work. In what universe would an Uchiha ever do something even remotely altruistic? Naruto shrugs again, standing up. “Well, at least I asked. That should get her off my back.”

Sasuke raises his eyebrows, a bit scornful. “You sound truly motivated.”

“Look, I get it if you’re not up to it”, Naruto says, throwing his backpack on. “It’s fine. It’s none of your concern anyway.”

“Wait”, Sasuke says. For a moment he looks conflicted somehow, but then his regular uninterested look is back. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t help you.”

“Well, you basically did.”

“Except I didn’t”, Sasuke states. “How much tutoring are we talking about?”

“A lot? I mean, I have like two weeks until the make-up exam, and I need at least 85 percent if I don’t wanna risk failing.”

“And?”

“And what? My mom is going to kill me if I don’t graduate.”

“Hn”, Sasuke notes. Then he smirks, the expression a bit odd on his usually politely blank face. “And you couldn’t study in advance because…?”

“Because I didn’t feel like it? Because I couldn’t possibly know that I would break my arm and not be able to study the night before like I had planned?” Naruto tries crossing his arms again, but the cast gets in the way, irritating him even further. “I don’t need another lecture from you. You can rest assured that Kakashi and Sakura already took care of that.”

There’s a silence after that, a moment where Naruto glares warily at Sasuke. “Well?” Naruto urges, when the silence grows too heavy. “Are you gonna help me or not?”

“What choice do I really have”, Sasuke huffs, “when you ask so nicely.”

  
  


*******

Naruto taps his pen against the table, trying his best not to fidget. Since Sasuke didn’t have any more classes and had actually offered to help, Naruto had ended up ditching the last class of the day. It felt like a small sacrifice to make in order to nail the make up exam, but so far he had not made any progress. He is restless and feeling more and more stupid as the time passes. It doesn’t help that Sasuke looks nearly as frustrated as him—although it is clear that the Uchiha is trying to politely mask his irritation.

“This is useless”, Naruto sighs, defeated. “I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.”

It seems that Sasuke just barely resists letting out a sigh. “You can easily check if the answer is correct by differentiating. Think of integration as an anti-differentiation.”

“Uh, so I just... ”

“Differentiate. Please.”

“Why is this so hard”, Naruto whines, leaning back on his chair. It feels like his head is buzzing. He wrinkles his nose in dissatisfaction. “I will never learn this.”

Sasuke looks more and more like he’s regretting his willingness to help. “You won’t learn”, he says, “unless you concentrate. Try to figure out the steps you need to take to get to the answer.”

“But how will I know what the steps are? It’s just a bunch of numbers and random letters!”

“Be quiet”, Sasuke hisses. “This is a library.”

Naruto huffs, taking one lazy look around their surroundings. “Who cares? There’s nobody here except us.” To emphasize his words, he leans even further back with his chair, throwing his feet on the table on top of his books. “Can’t you just make me a cheat sheet or something that I can take with me to the exam?”

“And that would help you how, exactly? Even if I agreed, I doubt that you would even be able to use the cheat sheet if you don’t understand the basic rules. Let alone recognize the mathematical notations.”

“Hey! I’m not a complete idiot!”

“Could have fooled me”, Sasuke says, yanking the books away from under Naruto’s shoes. “I am _ not _ making you a cheat sheet. I’m wasting my time helping you—the least you can do is try to learn. And get your feet off the table.”

Naruto lets out a dissatisfied grunt, but swings his feet obediently off the table anyway. That, unfortunately, results in him losing his balance. The flimsy chair and a freshly waxed floor are an unfriendly combination, and he ends up crashing to the floor—and hitting his already injured arm in the process. 

The pain shoots up his arm, sharp and hot, and it makes him yelp. He cradles the cast against his chest instinctively, trying hard not to curse aloud.

Sasuke leans over the table, giving him a politely concerned look. “Did you manage to break more bones?”

“I don’t think so”, Naruto croaks, pushing himself into a sitting position with his good arm. “I broke the fall with the cast.”

“That was quite a landing.”

“No shit...” Naruto hisses, trying to move his fingers. The pain was not nearly as bad as it had been when he initially broke the arm, but the now dull, deep ache was still enough to make him flinch and his eyes water embarrassingly.

“Are you just going to sit there?” Sasuke asks, his voice a bit annoyed. When no answer comes, Sasuke stands up and walks over, kneeling to the floor. “You didn’t hit your head, did you?”

“No… I just. I uh–” Naruto tries to swallow. He’s breathing faster than he has any reason to, and it is harder to fill his lungs with air, no matter how he tries. He holds his breath for a while, trying to slow down his breathing and to calm down. Being on the verge of a panic attack was not something he wanted to share with anyone—least with Sasuke Uchiha. So he takes another deep breath and forces out a laugh. “I don’t really have a high tolerance when it comes to pain”, he admits, hoping his voice doesn’t sound shaky.

Sasuke looks a bit surprised, but he most certainly hadn’t planned on showing it. “Hn”, he simply notes.

“Yeah.”

“Who would have guessed”, Sasuke says after a while, raising his eyebrows in an apparent amusement.

Naruto tries to laugh again, but this time it sound definitely shaky. He feels a bit sheepish, but tries to concentrate on breathing instead. 

To his surprise, Sasuke reaches out a hand. “Let me see”, Sasuke says. 

“Uh, what?”

“Your arm. Let me see.”

Naruto hesitates a moment, but gingerly straightens his arm out toward Sasuke’s direction.

Sasuke touches the cast, clearly careful with his hands. “Can you move your fingers?”

“Yeah”, Naruto says, wiggling his fingers in an answer.

“There’s no cracks in the cast”, Sasuke says, matter-of-factly. “You’re fine. Although, you do look like you’re about to faint.”

“I do not!” Naruto argues, appalled by the accusation. “...It just hurt, that’s all.”

“You probably hit a nerve”, Sasuke points out. “Your elbow is bleeding.”

“What?” Naruto tugs his arm free of Sasuke’s hold, twisting a bit to see the elbow. The skin is bruised where it had taken the worst hit. The trickle of blood isn’t much, but it’s still there. The realization is accompanied by a dizziness, which, to be honest, isn’t a total surprise. He swallows. “Oh shit.”

“Here”, Sasuke says suddenly, tearing Naruto’s attention away from the injure. He has conjured up a handkerchief from somewhere. 

Naruto stares at the handkerchief, completely bewildered. “…What?”

“For your elbow, idiot”, Sasuke says, thrusting the handkerchief towards Naruto. “I don’t want you to get blood everywhere.”

“Right”, Naruto says, taking the handkerchief and pressing it gently to his elbow. It stings a bit, but the whole interaction has effectively taken his mind off the pain. The handkerchief is the fancy kind you only ever see in the movies. It has Sasuke’s initials embroidered on the corner, and everything is just so absurd that Naruto has to laugh—it’s a genuine laugh this time. “Who even uses handkerchiefs anymore?” he asks, smirking. “Trying to act like Mr. Darcy to make the girls swoon?”

“I’m surprised you even know that name with your common knowledge”, Sasuke replies, not at all amused. He leans closer, swatting Naruto’s hand away, and ties the handkerchief around the elbow as a makeshift bandage. When he’s done, he leans back, glancing up at Naruto. His voice is low. “Handkerchiefs are better for the environment, you know.”

Naruto feels his cheeks heat up suddenly, and his mouth is oddly dry. “I guess”, he stammers in response, although he doesn’t quite remember what they were talking about. He then realizes that he’s being ungrateful, and he clears his throat. “Thanks”, he says, nodding towards the handkerchief, “for this.”

“Hn.”

There’s another silence after that. Sasuke is looking at him, almost curious glint in his dark eyes. Naruto tries to ignore it, but he is starting to feel self-conscious, so he glares at Sasuke. “What?”

“Just wondering”, Sasuke says, shrugging a bit. “If you really have such a low tolerance for pain, why do you always pick fights with people?”

“I don’t”, Naruto argues, his glare deepening. 

“You almost got suspended last year.”

“Those guys were bullies”, Naruto points out. “Somebody had to teach them a lesson.”

“And it was clearly your job, considering you can’t handle seeing blood?”

“I don’t have a problem with blood”, Naruto says, almost petulant tone creeping in his voice. “I just like to keep mine in my veins—you know, where it’s _ supposed _ to be.”

Sasuke looks faintly amused after the declaration, but doesn’t continue on the subject. Instead, he stands up, extending his hand towards Naruto. “We should get going. It’s almost closing time.”

Naruto hesitates just a second before taking the offered hand with his uninjured one, and hoisting himself up. “Well, this has been fun”, he says, pointedly wiping some dust off his pants. 

“Pack up your things. We will continue tomorrow from where we left off.”

“Yeah, okay”, Naruto nods, cramming his books haphazardly into his backpack. Then he stops, a sudden realization dawning on him. “Wait… Tomorrow’s Saturday.”

“Yes, and?”

“I’m not going to spend my weekend on studying!”

“Yes, you are. I don’t have anything else scheduled for tomorrow, so I can waste some of my time on you.”

Naruto stares at Sasuke, shocked and appalled. He is about to cross his arms in protest, but he remembers his battered elbow. “The school is closed”, he remarks instead. “Where will we study? I can’t go to the city library.”

“And why is that?”

“I, uh… may or may not have been banned from there.”

Sasuke raises his eyebrows in an apparent surprise. “How do you even get banned from a library?”

“A prank gone wrong”, Naruto grins. “Was totally worth it, though.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me”, Sasuke says, rubbing his temples. His voice sounds slightly irritated, when he continues. “My parents aren’t home tomorrow, so we can study at my place.”

Naruto feels the need to argue, but he doesn’t want to antagonize Sasuke any further and in process ruin his only chance at the exam. “Fine”, he groans instead, throwing his backpack on one shoulder. “What time?”

An almost mischevious smirk settles on Sasuke’s lips. “I’ll give the butler a permission to let you use the front door if you arrive before 10am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No one:  
Naruto: Sasuke's hair is so glossy and shiny and soft. I wanna run my fingers through it.  
Naruto: ...at least that's what the girls in our school say. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not understand how the American high school system and/or university/college application process work. I did spend approximately two hours on the internet trying to figure it out, but it is soooo different from the one I know. We can just pretend that Naruto goes to a magical high school with magical education system.
> 
> (Also, it has been a while since my high school days and I truly can't remember what we studied in mathematics in senior year. Integration and differentiation are the only things that came to mind. I actually had to google if I was correct about checking the answer by differentiating, haha.)
> 
> Anyway! I hope you enjoyed. I'd truly appreciate if you take some time to leave a comment and/or kudos. Writing this is my only source of joy in this very trying time.


	2. A Lesson to Learn

The next morning Naruto forces himself out of the bed way too early for it to be a Saturday morning. It is blasphemy, truly. The weekend is supposed to be a sacred time, a chance to forget the school work. It most certainly isn’t meant to be wasted on studying.

With tired, almost inaudible grumbling he rummages through his clothes pile, finally pulling out the same hoodie he had been wearing the day before. He pulls the hoodie over his head, struggling a bit to fit his left arm through the sleeve. It was hard to get dressed with the cast on his arm, but he’s starting to get the hang of it.

He puts on black jeans that he finds under his bed, wiping some dust off of them. He wrestles with the zipper, but with a little bit of shimmying he manages to get dressed up almost on time. He brushes his teeth and combs his fingers through his hair in front of a mirror, trying to look even moderately presentable. But there's no winning this battle, and with a tired glare towards his reflection, he decides not to care. He would be late if he tried to get his hair to cooperate.

Naruto marches downstairs, still continuing with his grumbling. If he had a say in all this, he would still be asleep for at least two hours. But in this scenario his future weighs more than a few hours of extra sleep, as hard as it is to admit.

He jumps down the last three steps, almost startling his mother, who’s curled up on the living room couch and sipping her morning tea.

“Morning, mom”, Naruto calls out with a smile.

“Good morning, honey. You’re up early.”

“Yeah”, Naruto groans. “I have to meet up with a friend for a school thing.”

“Well, that sounds fun.”

“Sure. It would be super fun if I liked suffering.” Naruto rolls his eyes, looking around the room. “Where’s dad?”

“Still asleep.”

“Lucky”, Naruto moans, walking through the living room and toward the kitchen.

“There’s still leftover soup in the fridge”, mother’s voice calls out after him.

Naruto grimaces instinctively, grateful for the fact that his mother can’t see him in the kitchen. Truthfully, he would rather starve than eat another spoonful of the green, slimy concoction his mother calls soup. His mother is going through some kind of clean-living phase and has been very into different kinds of soups—like the nettle soup she had prepared the night before.

“I’m good, thanks”, Naruto calls back, grabbing a banana from a fruit bowl and making a beeline for the door. “I don’t really have time to eat anyway or I’ll be late.”

“Okay. Have fun!”

“You bet”, Naruto mutters, jamming his feet into sneakers and grabbing his backpack.

Grey clouds are gathering to the sky when Naruto walks out the door. He doesn’t bother turning back to get an umbrella. It’s not a long walk anyway, and he’s quite glad that the weather is somewhat reflecting his mood. It would be torture to spend the day studying if it was sunny outside. Now it looks like it might even start raining before the afternoon, and the observation actually brightens his mood.

He checks the time from his phone, hurrying his steps. He doesn’t want to start the day by being late and unnecessarily pissing Sasuke off. Although, a small part of him wishes to rile up Sasuke just a little bit—just enough to see his composed demeanour crack. 

***

The Uchihas live in a prosperous residential area in a grand three storey mansion. The building was one of the oldest in the whole town, albeit skilfully restored. Naruto had once found an article showcasing the mansion in one of his mother’s magazines about interior design. He had read it out of curiosity, taking note of the astronomical estimated value of the estate. The pictures had shown bits and pieces of the interior, the article describing the architectural styles that had inspired the process of interior decorating. Naruto hadn’t been all too interested in the Art Deco characteristics, but the picture of two golden retrievers running in the backyard had caught his attention. Somehow, that picture had been the only one that gave the impression that somebody was actually living there and calling the place home.

Naruto stops in front of the estate, gazing up at the magnificent building surrounded by the greenery and the grey sky. There was a fence separating the huge green yard and the lush plants from the street and other buildings. A heavily built, automatic gate blocks Naruto’s way. He presses the buzzer, feeling somewhat humiliated to be standing there. A moment later an electric buzz signals the opening of the gate, and Naruto slips through as soon as there’s enough room to do so without getting stuck. 

There’s a short driveway leading to the front door and Naruto walks up, feeling more nervous with every step. When he’s almost at the front steps, the door opens, and an elderly man dressed in an immaculate suit appears out of nowhere. Naruto knows vaguely what Sasuke’s father looks like, and the grumpy, greying man at the door looks nothing like him. Naruto had thought that Sasuke was joking about the butler, but there’s no other explanation.

“Mister Uzumaki, I presume?” the man asks with a distinctly British accent, eyeing Naruto with a surly expression. 

“Uh, sure”, Naruto says. It feels like he had just stumbled in the middle of a soap opera or one of those historical period dramas his mother watches. Sure, the mansion and the front yard resembling a botanical garden were a bit much, but a British butler was another thing altogether.

The butler nods politely, motioning Naruto to come inside. “Young master is waiting for you”, he says. “Allow me to show you to his room.”

“Okay”, Naruto manages, trying hard not to laugh at the pretentious title. He can’t wait to bring it up with Sasuke.

The mansion looks the same inside as it had looked in the pictures he had seen in the magazine. There are various paintings on the wall, but Naruto doesn’t have time to admire the foyer for long, as the butler ushers him to the stairway. They walk up the stairs to the second floor in silence, the butler with an unnecessarily exaggerated posture and snooty stride. Naruto tries to take in the various family portraits hanging on the wall by the stairs, but in the end he is more interested in the actual stairs, which, he is quite certain, are made of marble.

They walk along one of the corridors until the butler stops behind a closed door. He knocks lightly, pausing for a moment to straighten his tie. Naruto stands a few steps behind, an anxious energy bubbling in him for some reason. Everything is just so… formal.

“Come in”, a voice speaks from the room.

The butler opens the door and steps inside, taking another step to the side so Naruto could also enter. Naruto does so after a second, feeling a little out of place.

Sasuke is seated in an armchair, looking as noble as one would expect of him. The two golden retrievers from the magazine are lying next to him on the carpet and gazing curiously at them—way too well-behaved to come greet them at the door.

“Mr. Uzumaki is here to see you”, the butler says dryly.

“Yes, I can see that”, Sasuke answers, perhaps a bit embarrassed. He closes the book he had apparently been reading before they showed up. “Thank you, Bernard”, he nods then, dismissing the butler.

The butler answers with a curt nod of his own, backing out of the room and closing the door behind him.

There’s a silence after that, until Naruto turns to Sasuke, grinning widely. “Young master, huh?”

Sasuke closes his eyes for a second, a long-suffering sigh escaping his lips. “I’ve told him to stop calling me that.”

“Uh-huh, sure you have”, Naruto notes, walking further into the room. 

There’s an almost synchronized thumping sound coming from where the dogs are wagging their tails against the carpet, clearly excited. Naruto turns to the dogs, crouching to the floor. “Well, hello there.”

The dogs look like they’re about to start to vibrate out of pure excitement. One of them turns to glance at Sasuke, as if to ask permission.

“Go ahead”, Sasuke tells—and the dogs go wild.

They rush up to Naruto, almost tackling him to the ground. They wiggle their bodies, wagging their tails even faster. 

“Whoa, hey!” Naruto laughs, trying to pet both dogs at the same time without falling over. “Nice to meet you, too.”

After a while Sasuke lets out a quiet chuckle. “That’s enough”, he calls. “Atlas, Argos, here boy.”

The dogs return to Sasuke immediately, as excited as ever. Sasuke offers them both a few friendly pats and scratches, whispering something quietly until the dogs settle back on the carpet. Naruto watches the interaction with an abashed fascination. Sasuke is smiling—the expression so different and soft compared to his usual glares and sneers—and Naruto doesn’t quite know how to take it all in.

Naruto turns his gaze away, concentrating on throwing his backpack on the floor, near a small, cream-colored leather couch. He slumps to the couch, settling in, and kicks off his shoes. That, apparently, isn’t something that Sasuke appreciates, considering that his usual glare is already back when Naruto turns to glance at him again.

Naruto decides to ignore the glare, shooting one of his own trademark grins towards Sasuke. “Atlas and Argos?”

“Yes”, Sasuke says. “My parents let me and my brother name them. It was a few years ago, obviously.”

“...You have a brother?”

Sasuke glances to the side, his posture straightening. “An older brother, yes.”

“I always thought you were an only child.”

“Technically I might as well be”, Sasuke shrugs. His jaw looks suddenly a bit tight. “Itachi is six years older, so he has already moved out. He went to a boarding school for a few years when we were kids, so we… aren’t that close.”

“Oh, okay”, Naruto says, feeling like he had just pried into something too personal. Instead of badgering Sasuke more about the subject, Naruto lets his gaze wander around the room, taking in the details.

In addition to the leather couch and a matching armchair there isn’t a lot of furniture. There’s a coffee table between them, and a luxurious white carpet covers part of the dark hardwood floor. There’s a desk and a chair in the corner, the desk almost bare except for a laptop, a lamp, and a stack of books. A bookshelf filled with more books stands next to the desk. The king-sized bed is situated on the other side of the room and near the tall windows.

Naruto knows—from that article—that the room is decorated with the same Art Deco inspiration as the rest of the house. It doesn’t really seem like the room reflects Sasuke’s own taste as much as his parents’. There are some paintings on the wall, but other than that the room is quite impersonal. There’s no clutter whatsoever, and the place feels a bit eerie, considering how big it is. There’s two more doors in addition to the main entrance, leading into a bathroom and a walk-in closet, no doubt. The room is like a miniature house inside a house—or in this case, inside a mansion.

“So”, Sasuke speaks up, tearing Naruto away from his thoughts, “are you ready to study?”

“You bet!” Naruto says, grinning again. “Instil mathematical nonsense into my brain.”

Sasuke looks a bit disgruntled and his eyes travel to Naruto’s shoes and the backpack currently occupying the floor. “Did you suddenly decide that it would be thoughtful to pay me back by messing up my room?”

Naruto leans back on the couch. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna leave my stuff here. I’m just trying to create a temporary _ feng-shui _that helps me concentrate better.”

Sasuke doesn’t look too pleased, but he lifts his gaze back up to Naruto. “Are you seriously insisting that you can’t study unless the room is a mess?”

“Yeah, I guess”, Naruto laughs. “I don’t think a pair of shoes equates a mess, though.”

Sasuke scoffs but doesn’t continue on the subject. “I had time to make some revision materials for you”, he says instead, standing up and walking up to his desk. He opens the top drawer and takes out a stack of papers. “There are some notations that might be helpful.”

Sasuke walks over to the couch, handing the papers to Naruto. “If you manage to learn these, you should be able to reach the required score.”

Naruto takes the papers—fifteen or so pages of neatly printed math problems, notations, rules and parabolas. Sasuke had even gone through the trouble to highlight some parts with a blue highlighter.

“Th- uh, thanks, man”, Naruto mutters. The whole thing feels wrong, somehow. Preparing the materials must have been a lot of work, no matter how you looked at it. Sasuke had clearly put in way too much effort, and for some reason it annoys Naruto. 

“There’s no need to thank me”, Sasuke says, his face expressionless. He walks back to his desk and gets seated. “Just don’t fail your exam.”

Naruto hums. He thinks about the exam and graduation—and his mother’s cooking. If he graduates and goes off to college, he can be free of nettle soup and green smoothies and overnight oats. He could eat Ramen—his absolute favourite—every day for every meal, and no one would lecture him about it. All that in mind, he should just keep his mouth shut and be grateful for the help. But there’s still something that bothers him. He clears his throat and hesitates a bit. Then he asks; “Why are you helping me?”

Sasuke looks a bit surprised, but he masks it well. “Because you asked”, he says curtly.

“That’s not really a reason”, Naruto huffs, rolling his eyes. “You didn’t have to agree to help me, but you did. Even if we don’t get along. You know, in social studies last semester... I might have said some things that, uh…”

“Are you trying to weasel your way out of this?”

“No”, Naruto says quickly, shaking his head to emphasize his words. “I really appreciate the help. But I guess I am just… trying to say that I’m sorry for the things I said, you know.”

Sasuke turns his gaze away, his shoulders stiff. “Just concentrate on studying”, he says, opening his laptop with indifference. “I don’t keep a record of the insults thrown at me.”

Naruto stays silent, staring at the stack of papers, somewhat taken aback by Sasuke’s words. Sasuke doesn’t elaborate, but Naruto feels that it is heavily implied that Sasuke receives a lot of insults. The Uchiha might be popular among the girls, but it was the opposite when it came to the boys in their school. Naruto had heard what people said about Sasuke—and what he, too, had said in more than one occasion—that Sasuke was stuck-up, arrogant and shallow. There were some who were probably just jealous and spoke out of spite, but Naruto had passionately declared to everyone that he couldn’t stand the Uchiha.

Things had gotten quite ugly between the two of them when they had been forced to work together in social studies. They had disagreed over everything. Sasuke had been very adamant on doing things his way and Naruto didn’t particularly enjoy being bossed around. Things had escalated to childish name-calling, and the teacher was initially forced to break them apart before a full-on brawl could break out. They had finished the assignment eventually, but Naruto had made sure that Sasuke knew precisely what he thought of him.

Naruto lets his gaze wander back to Sasuke, who is currently typing on his laptop. Sasuke looks expressionless, his posture straight, and something akin to guilt churns inside Naruto. It’s stupid to feel remorse now, when just yesterday he had been badmouthing Sasuke to his friends. Nevertheless, he does feels bad about it. Besides, at least some of his grudge against Sasuke has been unwarranted. It certainly isn’t Sasuke’s fault that his parents are rich, or that he is popular—or blessed with mysterious eyes and almost ethereal looks–

The thought is so sudden and unexpected that Naruto startles, dropping some of the papers on the floor.

He shakes his head to clear his thoughts. There was no way that he had been thinking that, because… just _ nope_. He had merely stated what he had heard the girls say. Good looks were an obvious fact, right? Anyone could see that Sasuke was attractive, there was no reason to get so flustered over thinking that. Not that he thinks that Sasuke is attractive, but… shit.

Naruto crouches to the floor, attempting to pick up the papers. The damned cast has made his fingers clumsy and the task is more difficult than it has any reason to be. His inner turmoil just gets worse when Sasuke appears out of nowhere, in apparent effort to help him.

“I got it”, Naruto mutters, trying to shoo Sasuke away. His face feels awfully hot, and it doesn’t help that Sasuke still manages to look elegant while doing something as mundane as picking papers off the floor.

“Hn”, Sasuke answers, straightening the papers he had managed to pick up and handing them over to Naruto. “There are page numbers so the they won’t get mixed up.”

“Yeah”, Naruto grumbles, “I know what page numbers are for.”

“If you say so”, Sasuke smirks. He straightens up, wiping non-existent dust off his pants. “You should start by going over the formulas on the first page. After that we can test if you can apply them to practice.”

Naruto nods. He returns to the couch, trying hard not to look like he’s sulking. He takes a moment to rearrange the papers, turning his focus on the first page. The formulas are printed out neatly and next to them, in Sasuke’s handwriting, are small examples and notes. 

“How long did it take to make these?” Naruto can’t help but to ask.

“Not long”, Sasuke says, returning to his desk. “They are my own notes, I just added some tips.”

“You seriously transcribe your notes?” Naruto asks, although he is already dreading the answer.

“Most of them”, Sasuke shrugs. “It’s a good way to memorise the lessons.”

“Jesus”, Naruto mutters. “How do you have time for that?”

“Non-existent social life”, Sasuke suggests.

Naruto stares, horrified. The silence that falls between them is thick. 

Then Sasuke smirks. “I was kidding, dobe.”

“Wh–what did you just call me?”

Sasuke doesn’t answer, but his smirk grows into a full-on grin. Then he turns back to his laptop as if nothing had happened—as if Naruto didn’t just go through a once-in-a-lifetime experience, because 1) Sasuke Uchiha just told a somewhat self-deprecating joke, and 2) Sasuke Uchiha _ grinned_. There is a chance that Naruto was the only person outside of Sasuke’s immediate family to witness something like that, and the realisation is shocking. Sasuke was known for his composed and almost expressionless demeanour. Sasuke Uchiha doesn’t just grin. There is a good reason why people at school have nicknamed him _ The Ice Prince_, and seeing him smile or grin was surreal.

To distract himself from the fact he had probably misjudged Sasuke’s character completely, Naruto takes his phone out of his pocket and opens Google. He types in _ dobe _and hits search.

“Hey!” Naruto whines when the search results appear. “Did you really call me an idiot just now?”

Sasuke shrugs. That insufferable smirk returns to his lips. “I don’t know, _ dead last_. Did I?”

“You–”

“Put the phone away”, Sasuke interrupts. “You’re supposed to be studying.”

Naruto huffs, but gives in. He jams the phone back in his pocket, placing the revision material on the coffee table in front of him. Most of the integration formulas look somewhat familiar, so he concentrates on the instructions and tips Sasuke had written next to them. It’s easier to understand things when they are written out like that, but even so, some of the notes make his head buzz with restlessness and confusion. The skin beneath the cast itches, and it is hard to concentrate. The dogs are snoring on the carpet and Naruto has to stifle a yawn.

He lets his eyes wander back to Sasuke, who is still typing something on his laptop. Sasuke looks completely absorbed in whatever he’s working on. His jet-black hair is a bit more tousled than usual, covering his face so that Naruto can’t quite see his expression. Sasuke is seated in a way that is proper and undoubtedly ergonomically correct, but it looks strange considering that he is just sitting in his own room in his spare time.

Naruto thinks about his own happy place and his favourite way to wind down—curled up in his bed with blankets, a TV show or a movie playing on his laptop. Did Sasuke ever do that? Did he ever just… relax?

It’s odd, to say the least, to think about Sasuke lying on his bed, doing something pointless—something, that he would truly enjoy; like listening to music or watching a movie. It is hard even picturing Sasuke dressed down in casual clothes, let alone properly unwinding. How would he even look with relaxed posture and unclenched jaw and–

Naruto doesn’t realize that he’s staring until he meets Sasuke’s dark eyes staring back at him, a questioning look in those mysterious depths.

Naruto lowers his gaze back to the papers embarrassingly fast, feeling his face heat up quite violently.

***

It is half past two in the afternoon when Naruto finally makes it back home. 

He throws his backpack to the hallway floor and kicks off his shoes. One glance around the living room is enough to tell that his parents aren’t home. It must be date night, or whatever.

Naruto climbs the stairs up to his room and falls to the bed immediately, exhausted and irritated. He hadn’t made any real progress with studying, no matter how hard he had tried. Math was confusing at best and insufferably hard at worst. Things certainly didn’t get any easier when Sasuke decided to sit next to him on the couch in order to better explain how to use each formula.

Naruto presses his face against the pillow and screws his eyes shut. He knows why it had been so hard to concentrate—why his thoughts were scattered all over the place. He knows, but it’s no use admitting anything. He has enough on his plate just as it is, with his failing grades and the uncertain future. He doesn’t need to add anything else on his list of things to worry about. 

So, he blocks the thoughts—like he has done so many times before. It’s safer not to think about any of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this is offensive to British butlers, but a stereotypical snarky butler is my favourite character in any TV show and I couldn't resist haha.
> 
> Also, there was a ton of typos. I hope I managed to catch them all.


	3. Just Another Problem to Solve

Naruto hadn’t bothered to set an alarm. He would sleep as long as he wanted—or so he had thought. The reality gave him a rude awakening in the form of his mother, who rushed into his room. She almost kicked down the door by the sound of it, but Naruto was still half asleep, his mind too addled with sleep to really comprehend what was happening.

Then the sweet, safe warmth of his blanket is cruelly yanked off of him, and the cold reality starts to settle in.

“Get up”, his mother ushers, her voice urgent.

“Mom, what the f–”

His mother doesn’t berate him for almost cursing, but she does something even crueller, and pushes the curtains aside, letting the scorching light enter the room.

Naruto hisses, trying to shield his eyes with his hand. “What have I done this time? Why are you torturing me?”

“There’s a boy at the door asking for you”, his mother answers, throwing some clothes onto the bed. “I almost choked on my breakfast smoothie when I went to open the door and saw him.”

Naruto braves the sunlight and glimpses towards his mother. “If it’s Kiba, tell him I’ll call him later. I’m not getting up yet.”

His mother stares back at him, her gaze blank. Her face goes awfully red. “He’s never been over before. I… I was frankly too shocked by his divine beauty to ask his name.”

“Divine–? Mom, what are you–”

“You have five minutes”, his mother interrupts. “Make yourself presentable and come downstairs. I’ll make him some tea while he waits.” Then she storms out of the room with the same urgency as she had initially stormed in.

“Yeah, sure. Whatever.” Naruto yawns as soon as the door slams shut. He burrows back into his bed, pulling some of the clothes over himself to keep warm. He’s in no hurry to get up yet.

_ Too shocked by his divine beauty_, his mother had said. He most definitely didn’t know anyone who–

Fuck.

Naruto’s out of the bed in seconds. He almost crashes to the floor when his feet catch on the blanket his mother had yanked to the floor. 

“Shitshitshit.”

_ Sasuke_. Of course it would be Sasuke. His mother knew all his friends, and there hardly was anyone else who could fit such an extreme description, no offence.

Naruto haphazardly pulls on a T-shirt, pushing the cast through the sleeve with force. He doesn’t have time to look for pants, and he rushes out the door, still wearing the pyjama bottoms. He doesn’t have any time to waste. Worst-case scenario: his mother will accidentally poison Sasuke with her antioxidant blueberry twig tea. Not that Naruto _ cared_, but it would be a pain in the ass to hide the body—and to find a new tutor on such short notice.

Naruto jumps over the last few steps as he always does, rushing to the living room. He stops in his tracks in the doorway, a few feet away from the couch. 

Sasuke is seated on the couch, his back straight, hands politely resting in his lap. He looks a bit taken aback by Naruto, who has so suddenly stumbled in.

It’s odd seeing _ the _Sasuke Uchiha in their living room. Odd and unsettling, and Naruto doesn’t quite know what to say. Sasuke with his immaculately styled hair and tailored clothes, sitting on their worn-out couch, looking rather out of place. 

Naruto feels a bit dizzy from getting up so quickly, so he leans casually against the doorpost, hoping to look relaxed.

“Hey”, he finally blurts out, just before the silence turns awkward.

“Hey”, Sasuke says, in a much more composed manner. He gives Naruto a quick once-over, most definitely a bit perplexed by his current outfit. Instead of commenting on the whole half-pyjama attire, he lifts his eyebrows in an almost bored manner. “Do you often waste your Sundays by sleeping till noon?”

“Only whenever I have a chance”, Naruto answers, rolling his eyes. “A chance, that you are currently ruining for me. Speaking of which… What are you doing here? How did you get my address?”

“I’m here to help you study. Based on yesterday, you can’t afford to slack off”, Sasuke answers. “I got your address from Sakura, if you must know.”

Naruto stares, appalled. “She betrayed me? Just like that? Jesus, I bet she would give my address to a crazed serial killer if they just asked nicely…”

“Don’t be dramatic. She agreed that you should accept all the help I am willing to offer.”

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” Naruto whines. “Sundays are not meant for studying. I had actually planned on going out in the city, so–”

“So, hopefully he can go with you”, his mother calls out from the kitchen. “He could keep you out of trouble and save us from another emergency room visit…”

“Mom, please”, Naruto groans, embarrassed, glancing quickly towards Sasuke. Naruto did not want to spend the day with the Uchiha. He needs some time to sort out his thoughts after yesterday. Besides, just the mere thought of equations is enough to make him queasy. He had spent way too much time with numbers lately, and it was clearly starting to mess with his head.

His mother enters the room with two steaming cups of tea. She’s chosen the good cups, Naruto notices—the ones he’s not even allowed to touch. She offers one of the cups to Sasuke—store-bought tea, Naruto notes—and then she takes a seat in an armchair across the coffee table. 

“So”, she speaks out again, smiling at Naruto, “is this about the school assignment you mentioned yesterday? What are you working on?”

“Uh”, Naruto says. He hadn’t exactly told his parents about his predicament with the math exam or the cursed ultimatum with the grade. Instead, he had told a white lie about a school assignment—trusting, that his parents wouldn’t ask any more questions. He didn’t want to lie, but he would like to live long enough to even have a chance to graduate. Hopefully, he would never have to bring up his failing grades if he just manages to score enough points from the make-up exam. Seeking solace from that fact, he clears his throat. “Yeah, it’s uh… a thing. An assignment for, you know.”

“An elective assignment”, Sasuke offers, pointedly glancing at him. “For extra credit.”

“Yes!” Naruto nods, grateful that Sasuke is quick to catch up and apparently in no mood to screw Naruto over by pointing out the obvious lie. “For extra credit.”

“How nice”, his mother says, but Naruto can see her eyes squint with doubt. “What is your assignment about?”

“Ah, um… Numbers?” Naruto tries. “M-Math?”

“Unsolved mathematical problems”, Sasuke says. “Millennium problems and the attempts to solve them.”

Naruto nods again, desperate to convince his mother. “Yup. Math mysteries, you know.”

“That sounds fascinating”, his mother says, looking pleased at the answer. She offers a polite smile to Sasuke, but then her eyes get serious and she turns her gaze back to Naruto. “Don’t let your friend do all the work. It sounds like he’s done a lot more research on the subject than you. I bet he would have more hardworking friends to complete the assignment with. Don’t make him regret choosing you.”

“Geez, mom”, Naruto groans again. His ears feel a bit hot, even though his mother is lecturing him about a made-up assignment.

Naruto glances warily towards Sasuke, who seems to be absorbed in silently stirring his tea. For some reason he can see Sasuke’s jaw tightening. And then it hits him—the unfortunate way his mother had phrased her words. Imaginary assignment or not, Naruto isn’t too sure that there are people queueing up to work with Sasuke.

Sasuke didn’t really have any close friends, at least none that Naruto knew of—or maybe they just didn’t go to the same school with them. Sure, Sasuke had hordes of admirers, but most of them were too intimidated by him to actually approach him. And Sasuke certainly didn’t work on being more approachable, that much Naruto knew from his own experience. If looks could kill, Sasuke certainly would have quite a body count.

Now that he’s thinking about it, Naruto can’t remember ever seeing Sasuke in any school events or house parties—let alone just having fun. There’s this sudden realisation—a dawning understanding—that Sasuke, despite being the school heartthrob, might actually be lonely. 

A hollow ache settles inside Naruto’s ribcage. He lowers his gaze to the floor and clears his throat, rubbing his neck with his good hand. “I, uh… I’m gonna go upstairs”, he says, “and get properly dressed. We’ll head out as soon as I’m ready.”

There’s a quiet _ clink _when Sasuke stops stirring his tea. “Are we going somewhere?”

“Yup”, Naruto answers, already heading out of the living room. “Let’s find a coffee shop, or something. I might be stuck with numbers, but there’s no reason to stay cooped up in here.”

*******

Although the coffee shop was quite busy, they had managed to take over a corner table away from the more crowded area. They are sitting in silence, while Naruto idly stirs his now almost lukewarm coffee, occasionally gazing at the boy seated across from him. 

Sasuke seems to be deep in thought, meticulously checking Naruto’s answers from the papers. Every once in a while he sips his coffee, his refined eyebrows wrinkling a bit when he thinks. The jet-black hair falls to his eyes when he tilts his head, and he stops for a moment, tucks a strand of hair behind his ear—only for it to fall back over his eyes again. 

Naruto tries hard not to stare. He tries to concentrate on gazing through the window at the passers-by on the street, or listening in on conversations from the nearby tables. There are three girls sitting at the table closest to them, and it is clear what their frenzied whispering is about. And that just brings Naruto’s attention back to the boy in front of him—and the way Sasuke occasionally licks his lips while writing notes on the page. And that’s just… too much, and Naruto has to force himself to look out of the window again.

It is a tiring circle, and the minutes feel endless. His only solace is to occasionally turn to glare at the girls. It doesn’t really help, but at least it keeps his mind occupied and in the clear—stops him from letting his eyes wander back to the boy in front of him.

It is better not to think about it. He’s been down that road, and it is not worth it.

“Hey”, Sasuke speaks up, and Naruto startles.

“Yeah?” Naruto asks, combing through his hair with his fingers. “What’s up?”

“Most of these are wrong”, Sasuke states, pointing at the papers, his gaze serious.

The disappointment, cold and heavy, settles in Naruto. “Are you sure?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“But I have studied more than ever before”, Naruto whines. “I even went over the formulas again yesterday before going to bed.”

“I don't see any progress”, Sasuke says, handing over the papers. “Check the notes.”

Naruto takes the papers reluctantly, glancing at the notes. “Was there anything I didn’t manage to fuck up?”

“Maybe a couple of basic calculations.”

“Jesus....”

“You do know that just reading through the revision material won’t help you?”

Naruto slumps down in his seat, groaning. “I know that. It’s just... so hard. I might as well give up.”

“It’s only been two days, dobe.” Sasuke scoffs. He moves his now-empty coffee cup aside. “Maybe you should try a different technique? You should focus more on each problem, and less on the formulas.”

“I don’t even know what that means.”

“If you look at the notes here”, Sasuke says and leans over to point at something he had written on the corner of the paper, “you can see that there are some mistakes that keep repeating. They are small mistakes, but they mess up the whole calculation.”

“Y-yeah”, Naruto says, a bit dazed. He’s trying to ignore the whiff of Sasuke’s cologne—something warm and heady, with a hint of wild mint and rosemary. The smell reminds him of a warm autumn evenings, and he should _ not _be thinking about it. 

“We could go over how to avoid the most common mistakes”, Sasuke suggests. “There are ways to quickly check if the answer is correct.”

Naruto nods, but he doesn’t say anything. It’s another generous offer, and it just manages to make him feel worse. It feels as if he’s forcing Sasuke to do all the work, while he himself is too dumb to even try. Deep, deep down it feels like he’s just taking advantage of Sasuke—which… to be honest, he probably is.

After the initial relief of getting a tutor had faded, Naruto had been left feeling guilty about the arrangement. Sasuke has nothing to gain from helping Naruto, but he had agreed to it anyway—without asking anything in return, and despite everything Naruto had said or done before. 

Naruto squeezes his hands into fists, trying to clear his thoughts. It does seem a bit hypocritical to feel like this, when he had been going on for years about how irritating and stuck-up Sasuke was. It is awfully clear that he had been wrong, but it is probably too late to try and tell that to Sasuke now. Nevertheless, it doesn’t feel right to accept so much help without giving anything in return.

Naruto’s allowance isn’t big enough to actually offer Sasuke any money, and he has a feeling that just suggesting it would end badly. Still, Naruto can’t help but to wonder if he should have at least offered to pay for Sasuke’s coffee—just to show his gratitude, of course. It could have just made things weird, but at least it would have been something. What could you even give to someone, who already has everything? 

And it hits him, clearer than ever.

Someone, who has everything—everything, except friends.

Loneliness isn’t something that Naruto is familiar with, but deep in his core, he’s afraid of it. He doesn’t know how it feels like to have no-one to hang out with, or no-one to call, but now—with graduation looming in the not-so-distant future—he is scared. For the first time ever, he will be forced to part ways with his oldest friends. Even if he somehow graduates, they will all go to different universities and won’t be able to see each other so often. Maybe they will grow apart, and then he will truly be alone. And this—what he fears—is probably something that Sasuke is too familiar with, and it doesn’t sit well with Naruto.

Naruto glances at Sasuke, who is currently staring out the window, clearly immersed in observing the people passing by—and there’s that hollow ache in Naruto’s chest again. 

It’s guilt and pity, and something else. It’s something sudden and scary, and sure, there’s no point in thinking about it, but still he asks; “Are you in hurry to get home?”

Sasuke turns to look at him, a reluctant glint in his eyes. “Why do you ask?”

“I just. I thought…” Naruto swallows. He takes a moment to stuff his books and papers in his backpack. Then he tries again. “I mean, if you’re not in a hurry, we could, like… hang out? Or something.”

Sasuke stares at him. “Hang out…?”

“Yeah”, Naruto says. He lowers his gaze towards the table, his eyes catching the sight of Sasuke’s hands on top of the papers—clenched fists, knuckles white. Naruto lifts his gaze back up to meet Sasuke’s eyes, and—to his amazement—Sasuke looks oddly nervous. 

Well, _ fuck_.

Naruto clears his throat. “I have some new video games”, he explains. “I haven’t had the chance to try the multiplayer option yet.”

The nervousness washes away, and in the tiniest, most polite way, Sasuke wrinkles his nose. “I don’t play video games”, he says, but his hands are still clenched.

Naruto leans back in his chair and lifts his brow in challenge. “You don’t play, or you have never even tried?”

Sasuke hesitates a moment, his lips forming a tight line. “All right”, he then says, “sure. I don’t really have anything else planned.”

“Awesome”, Naruto says, and he can’t help the wide grin that takes over his lips. He feels a bit better already.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I see Boruto's dad, and raise you... Naruto's mom.  
I honestly didn't plan on including the parents that much, so I decided not to spend any time really introducing them, but now his mom keeps showing up and it's just really awkward for everyone smh...


	4. The Function of Denial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back (back again)!
> 
> It has been so long since I really had time to sit down and write, but here we are. You can thank social distancing for clearing up some space from my calendar lol. 
> 
> Also, thank you all for being so patient with me.

It doesn’t take long to walk back to the house. They spend the time in a companionable silence, since Naruto had already pointed out all the most notable sights to Sasuke while they had walked to the coffee house a couple of hours earlier. They could have taken a different route since this one wasn’t even a short-cut, but Naruto has always been attached to this one—the colourful houses and crooked trees lining the sidewalk. It certainly wasn’t the main street, but it had its own charm, and even Sasuke seems appreciative of the mundane bustle of the street—a fact that makes Naruto glad for some reason.

  
  
His parents aren’t home when they get back. Naruto is silently happy about it, because he doesn’t want his mother to start heckling him for bringing a guest to his room when he hasn’t cleaned it up.

_Oh, shit_. The room.

“Fuck”, Naruto hisses, kicking off his shoes as soon as they both are inside. He rushes up the stairs two at a time, leaving a bit perplexed Sasuke to stand in the voyeur. “My room is upstairs”, Naruto calls out to him, motioning him to follow. 

He’s grateful that Sasuke seems to be in no hurry, because while Sasuke walks up the stairs in a more leisurely pace, Naruto manages to buy himself some time—a few precious seconds—to sweep the most offending piles of dirty clothes under his bed and into the closet. He’s struggling to close the closet door when Sasuke finally emerges from the hallway.

Sasuke stops in the doorway, his posture straight and dark eyes politely assessing the room. Naruto shoots him a bit flustered grin, trying to look as casual as he can while forcing the closet shut. The door would, hopefully, hold the avalanche of clothes and whatnot for a few hours.

“Take a seat”, Naruto offers, crouching to trifle through his desk and drawers for the TV remote.

Sasuke is quiet for a short while. He turns his gaze away from Naruto. “Should I go get an extra chair from somewhere?”

“What?”

“There’s only one chair”, Sasuke says, pointing towards the chair by the desk. He looks a bit offended. “I will not sit on the floor. It’s undoubtedly a health hazard by the looks of it.”

“Relax”, Naruto says pointedly, pushing a stack of papers off the desk and into a drawer. “We’ll sit on the bed. There’s plenty of room.”

The notion doesn’t seem to relax Sasuke, but he doesn’t argue, and instead takes a couple of rigid steps towards the bed. He’s scanning the rumbled bedcover warily. Eventually Sasuke does get seated, right there on the edge of the bed. For some reason he looks a bit embarrassed.

After locating the remote control, Naruto turns on the TV. He swipes the game controllers from his bookshelf and heads over to Sasuke. He slumps onto the bed next to him, but instead of sitting up he turns so he can lay on his stomach. He props himself up on his elbows and offers Sasuke a controller, ignoring the mildly irritated stare Sasuke shoots at him.

On an impulse Naruto reaches over to nudge Sasuke with his elbow. “C’mon, I told you to relax”, he coaxes. “I promise to go easy on you.”

Sasuke scoffs, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”

“Sure”, Naruto grins. “This is your first time, right? Um– Trying something like this. Video games, I mean. Uh. I–”

“Maybe_ you_ should try to relax”, Sasuke suggests. “You are rambling.”

“Yeah, sorry.” Naruto runs his hand through his hair, his smile turning a bit sheepish. “I’m not all that accustomed to having guests over. Besides Kiba and Sakura, of course. But I have known them my whole life, so it’s not– I mean... They’re not really strangers. Not that you’re a stranger! But– It’s just that with them I don’t have to–”

“Pretend?”

“Yeah. I mean, no! It’s just–”

Sasuke laughs, but it sounds a bit forced. “I know what you mean.”

“You do?”

“You feel like you owe me something because you had to ask for my help. You already told me you were feeling guilty about how things turned out in social studies last semester.”

“Yeah, but–”

“And now you’re going out of your way to try and make it up by pretending to be my friend.”

“It’s not-” Naruto tries. He knows he’s blushing by the way his face heats up. “It’s not that.”

“I don’t need your pity”, Sasuke states. “I am… accustomed to the way these things work.”

“No!” Naruto interrupts him. “It’s not… It’s not pity. I _was_ feeling guilty about being a complete dick to you, and now that I’ve gotten to know you–”

“You don’t know anything–”

“I know you better than the kids at school do”, Naruto says, glaring at Sasuke. “I know that people are just jealous, and they are taking it out on you.”

“Oh?” Sasuke asks, his expression cynical. “Is that how it was for you?”

Naruto turns his gaze away to hide his blush. “...Maybe”, he finally manages. He’s suddenly feeling a bit more see-through than he would like. Nevertheless, he feels it’s important to finish what he had started. “Maybe I was jealous”, he says then. “It does seem like you have it all. Loads of money, a cool car, amazing grades”, Naruto lists. _Good looks_, he thinks, but doesn’t say out loud.

“Hn.”

“You have a fucking butler, dude. It’s quite easy to be jealous of all that.”

“Yes, well”, Sasuke says, but his voice isn’t as controlled as he had probably intended. “Aren’t I just so lucky...”

Something in Naruto’s chest tightens. “In some ways you are. But it’s wrong to judge you based on all that.” 

Sasuke’s breath hitches. Then he scoffs and his voice wavers a bit. “Sure.”

“I mean it”, Naruto says. “You are so much more than that. I think… I think you’re quite okay.” 

“Quite okay?” Sasuke snorts, but it still sounds raw, vulnerable. “Who knew you had such way with words, dobe.”

“Hah, well. You better believe it.”

Sasuke is silent for a while. Then he sighs. “You’re…_quite okay_, too. I’m actually surprised that you don’t really live up to your reputation as a delinquent. Although, your appearance might suggest otherwise.”

That forces a laugh out of Naruto. “How dare you! Didn’t your parents teach you not to judge people by their appearance?”

“They did. But I have learned from experience that everybody does that.”

“Y-yeah”, Naruto says. The guilt is still clawing at his throat, and he doesn’t dare to look at Sasuke. Instead he starts up the game, offering a quick tutorial on what the game is about and what controls Sasuke would be needing.

***

Naruto hadn’t even realised that the sun was setting down until he felt the strain in his eyes.

It's getting dark even though the lights streaming from the TV are painting the walls of his room with a multitude of colours. The darkness is slowly enveloping the room.

Naruto glances at the boy sitting next to him on the bed. There’s a look of deep concentration on Sasuke’s face, and his black eyes look piercing in the dim light reflecting from the screen. 

Sasuke had quickly gotten the hang of the game, and just a few rounds later it was hard to believe that he had never before even held a controller.

They had drifted into a comfortable rivalry, exchanging playful insults every once in a while. A couple of snide remarks aside, Sasuke had remained as stoic as usual, and Naruto was a bit disappointed. He had been certain that he would get a glimpse of a more relaxed Sasuke. He hadn’t had any luck so far, and Sasuke had maintained his cool exterior, his dark gaze fixed on the TV. Occasionally a playful smirk would tug at his lips and–

“You do realise that you have been running in place on that corner for a while now?” Sasuke asks, clearly amused. “This is going to get boring if you give up.”

Naruto forces his gaze quickly back towards the screen. “No, I– I just”, he tries, squeezing the controller a bit forcefully. “I, uh...can’t focus when I’m hungry. That’s all.”

“Maybe you should get something to eat, then?”

“Yeah”, Naruto says, stalling a bit. He pauses the game, placing the controller on the bed. His parents still weren’t home, so he could rummage through the cabinets in search for something less disgusting than the nettle soup that was still sitting in the fridge. 

Running his fingers through his hair, Naruto stands up, stretching his back. “Would you like something?” he asks, directing his gaze back to Sasuke. “I could make tea or–”

“Just water, thank you”, Sasuke says and offers him a quick smile.

“Okay”, Naruto nods. “Yeah. Sure thing.” 

And with that he hurries out of the room. 

Sasuke’s smile had been the rare kind—he one with warmth and something akin to affection. It was completely different from his usual polite smile that never quite seemed to reach his eyes. 

Naruto knows painfully well by now that it doesn't do him any good to think about Sasuke, or his smile. It’s safer not to think about any of it, but it’s still the hardest thing to do.

He knows it’s a mistake to spend any extra time with Sasuke, and it certainly was a mistake to invite him over. He shouldn't get too comfortable around Sasuke. If he were to carry on like this, it would only be harder to keep lying to himself. He had only seen a glimpse of this new side of Sasuke, and it was already hard to stop his thoughts from wandering to a direction they had no use wandering.

Rummaging through the pantry and fridge would have to work as a distraction. His best bet would be to search the cabinets for something more edible than the damned soup.

There’s some leftover trail mix and dried fruits, but nothing he really wants to eat. Naruto knows that his father keeps a secret stash of junk food somewhere in the house, but he doesn’t have enough time to hunt it down. He should take a page out of his father’s book and smuggle some instant ramen into his room, but he isn’t too keen on receiving yet another lecture about nutrients from his mother.

For now, a sandwich is his only option. With a dissatisfied grunt he places two slices of organic bread on the plate. Vegan-friendly cheese (that isn’t really cheese—he’s ready to testify on that) and tomatoes aren’t his favourite toppings, but beggars can’t be choosers. 

He slices the tomatoes with an unnecessary aggression, trying to keep his mind focused on the task. No matter what, he will not think about the boy currently sitting on his bed upstairs. He will not think about the way the flickering lights from the TV screen light up Sasuke’s eyes, or how his lips press into a thin line when he concentrates on something. And he will most definitely not think about what it means to notice all of those things.

_Don’t think about it_, he tells himself, while he places the so-called cheese and tomatoes on the bread.

_Don’t think about it_, he keeps reminding himself while he takes two glasses out of the cupboard and proceeds to fill them with cold water. 

He balances the plate on top of one glass and heads back towards the stairway, all the while most definitely not thinking about _any of it_.

Sasuke is still seated on the bed when Naruto nudges the door open with his foot. To his utter dismay Sasuke has dug up the folder with revision materials, and Naruto can’t help but to feel the sting of betrayal.

Naruto walks closer, careful not to spill the water. “What are you doing? Weren’t we already done for the day?”

Sasuke lifts his dark eyes up from the papers, an insufferable smirk on his lips. “I don’t remember making that sort of promises.”

Naruto scoffs, placing his plate and one off the glasses on his desk. “We were supposed to hang out”, he complains, offering the other glass to Sasuke.

Sasuke takes the glass, quirking his eyebrows. “We _did_ hang out. But I think we should be more worried about your upcoming exam.”

Naruto gets seated on his desk chair, glaring disappointedly at his sandwich. “I don’t wanna study anymore”, he says.

“Too bad. It’s still quite early and I’m already here, so we might as well take advantage of that.”

Naruto takes a bite out of his sandwich and chews it slowly. “You sure are eager to spend all your free time on mathematical equations and me. Someone might think that you actually enjoy my company”, he says before he has a chance to consider his choice of words.

“Hn.”

The nonchalant response is worse than silence. At first Naruto was certain that Sasuke would just deny it, but now he’s left to wondering whether Sasuke actually _does_ enjoy his company—and that is another thing to add to the list of things he shouldn’t be thinking about. 

The sandwich is bland and dry, and Naruto keeps chewing bitterly.

He is so screwed. 

He doesn’t need any more reasons to think about Sasuke, but things just keep adding up. It’s hard enough as it is to pretend not to notice his stomach doing somersaults every time their eyes meet.

It’s harder not to stare so blatantly at Sasuke that he could get caught.

The cursed sandwich is hard to swallow, and Naruto tries to wash it down with water. He stares out of the window, as if there is something interesting to see. He is _not_ going to turn his gaze towards the bed and the raven-haired boy currently occupying it.

The silence is bordering on awkward, and even though the sandwich certainly isn’t a culinary highlight, Naruto regrets not making another. He’s all out of things to say, and soon running out of anything to chew. His mouth is going to get him into even more trouble, and he is justifiably worried about leaving it vacant. 

He tries to stall, but it seems he’s also all out of luck. As soon as he’s done eating, Sasuke breaks the silence by clearing his throat politely. 

“Whenever you’re ready”, Sasuke hums, an amused tone bleeding into his words.

Reluctantly, Naruto turns to glance at Sasuke. There’s an almost mischievous smile on Sasuke’s lips, and it feels out of place somehow. Sasuke nudges his head towards the bed, beckoning Naruto to take a seat.

With a drawn-out sigh Naruto slides out of his desk chair and walks over to the bed. He’s stalling again, but his head is already buzzing with irritation. As soon as he’s finished with the exams, he’s never using numbers again. Sure, it would seriously limit his career options, but he would make do.

Sasuke hands him the folder. “We don’t have all night”, he says.

_Pity_, Naruto thinks, and the word is dangerously close to slipping out of his mouth. The thought alone is enough to heat up his face, and he concentrates on getting more comfortable on the bed to mask his disorientation. 

Sasuke leans in closer, and Naruto gets another whiff of his scent. There’s a violent flutter of butterfly wings in his stomach, and nothing about this situation is doing anything to hinder his blush.

Sasuke points at something on the paper, and Naruto nods—although he doesn’t have any idea what Sasuke is saying.

***

Naruto can’t help the smug grin that’s spreading to his lips. Sasuke is going through the answers, a shocked expression on his face.

“There’s only a couple of small mistakes”, Sasuke huffs. “How are you suddenly so much better than mere hours ago?”

Naruto leans a bit closer to admire the fruits of his labour, trying—and failing—not to breath in Sasuke’s scent. It’s dangerous to sit so close that they’re almost huddled up together.

As an attempt to distract himself, he concentrates on the paper Sasuke is holding. Sasuke uses a red pencil to make notes and point out the mistakes, but now there's hardly any red marring the page. It’s such a stark contrast to earlier, that Naruto is shocked, too.

“Wow”, he says. “Clearly I was in the zone, you know? It must be the feng-shui of this room. I was completely _zen_.”

Sasuke all but snorts in amusement, handing the paper to Naruto. “It’s a shame you can’t retake your exam near a landfill.”

“Hey! I take offence in that. My room isn’t that bad.” 

“Keep telling yourself that”, Sasuke says, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. 

Naruto turns his attention back to the paper he’s now holding. Seeing Sasuke smile like that to him is the root of all his problems, and seeing it up close doesn’t really help with his predicament. He should be more careful. After all, he has no desire to repeat what happened in middle school.

Sasuke stands up suddenly, rolling his shoulders to release some tension. “I should probably head home”, he says. “My parents will be expecting me for dinner.”

“Yeah, sure”, Naruto swallows. “And thanks...for this.”

“It’s good to see that you’re not utterly hopeless”, Sasuke says.

Naruto lets out a laugh, daring to glance at Sasuke. “Was that a compliment?”

“Perhaps”, Sasuke smirks. He picks up his things from the bed and places them into his bag. He zips up the bag and wipes non-existent dust from his clothes. “How’s your schedule for tomorrow?” he then asks. “I have practice after classes, so we can’t really meet at the school.”

“Practice?”

“Piano lesson.”

“Oh”, Naruto states. “I didn’t know you played.”

Sasuke turns to look away, his shoulders tensing up. “Yes, well… That’s beside the point. We should figure out when and where to meet up.”

“Right! Yeah. Uh…” Naruto tries to remember what classes he usually has on a Monday, but he can’t remember any of them. He shares pretty much all of his classes with either Kiba or Shikamaru, so he’s usually just counting on them to steer him to the right room. He could text Shikamaru and ask him, but… _Oh._

“Give me your number!” Naruto blurts out before he can stop himself. 

Fuck.

Sasuke would get the wrong idea now. Or worse—Sasuke would see right through him. And then Sasuke would know, and he would tell everyone. 

_Shitshitshit_. 

Naruto forces out a laugh that sounds fake even in his own ears. “It…it would make things easier, you know. Easier to plan, I mean. I just…”

“Good idea”, Sasuke says, picking up his phone from his pocket. “Give me your number and I will text you mine later.”

“Yeah.” Naruto swallows. “Sure.”

***

Naruto walks Sasuke to the door, as it probably is the polite thing to do.

Then, as soon as the door is closed and Sasuke’s gone, he runs back upstairs, almost tripping on his own feet twice. 

Once inside his room, he locks the door and slumps to the floor. He presses his back against the door, trying to concentrate on breathing. The wooden surface is cold against his back, and his head is swimming. It doesn’t take long until he realises that he’s hyperventilating.

_Don’t think about it_, he keeps telling himself, but it doesn’t help at all.

With shaky legs he drags himself back up and walks across the floor. He crawls into his bed, and without even turning off the lights he pulls the blankets over his head.

He tries to ignore the warmth he can still feel on his bed where Sasuke had been sitting mere moments ago.

When his phone buzzes, he doesn’t even have the strength to pick it out of his pocket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Five percent of the people think;  
ten percent of the people think they think;  
and Naruto would rather die than think.”  
― Thomas A. Edison


End file.
